I saw NIGHT WATCH on Broadway with Joan Hackett and recall being fascinated by the murder mystery and the number of suspects in a story about a woman claiming to see a murder from her window. It's the stuff mysteries are made of.
Then, a couple of years later I saw the film and didn't realize I was watching the same story. It seemed familiar but there were a lot of changes. The most obvious change was the wife, played now by ELIZABETH TAYLOR, still gorgeous in the role Hackett played originally. Now Taylor was the unwanted wife and somehow that didn't ring as true.
Then there was LAURENCE HARVEY co-starring and the whole story expanded to have Taylor in luxurious townhouse surroundings. The clutter of suspects had been reduced to just a few others, so that the guessing game was not quite as difficult.
And yet, having forgotten most of the play, I was still surprised at the ending--and that, in itself, is probably reason enough to watch the film. It does hook you into the mystery and does come up with a surprise ending.
And let's face it. It's among the better films Taylor was making at this point in her career.
Then, a couple of years later I saw the film and didn't realize I was watching the same story. It seemed familiar but there were a lot of changes. The most obvious change was the wife, played now by ELIZABETH TAYLOR, still gorgeous in the role Hackett played originally. Now Taylor was the unwanted wife and somehow that didn't ring as true.
Then there was LAURENCE HARVEY co-starring and the whole story expanded to have Taylor in luxurious townhouse surroundings. The clutter of suspects had been reduced to just a few others, so that the guessing game was not quite as difficult.
And yet, having forgotten most of the play, I was still surprised at the ending--and that, in itself, is probably reason enough to watch the film. It does hook you into the mystery and does come up with a surprise ending.
And let's face it. It's among the better films Taylor was making at this point in her career.